


The Damsel and the Knight

by Muir_Wolf



Category: Warehouse 13
Genre: F/F, Femslash, First Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-21
Updated: 2009-12-21
Packaged: 2017-10-04 21:47:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/34456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Muir_Wolf/pseuds/Muir_Wolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Myka/Claudia.  Myka gets hurt in the Warehouse, and Claudia helps her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Damsel and the Knight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jayden](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Jayden).



**…The Damsel and the Knight…**

 

**./.**

_The damsel in distress and the knight in shining armor. We'll trade off who plays what, we'll sing a lullaby to the old gods and find ourselves in what we'd thought we'd lost._

**./.**

 

"You're avoiding her," Pete says. Myka's sitting on the couch, head in a book (no surprise there) and she doesn't move as Pete sits down next to her stretched out feet. "Stop pretending to ignore me," he says, voice a little more stern, eyes narrowing as he takes in the way her fingers stiffen on the edges of the book in her hands, the way her back slowly shifts her farther down against the armrest. "Myka," Pete says, a warning note in his voice as he grabs her ankles, and now she does squirm, book coming down as she pulls away.

"_Pete!_" she yells, struggling to get away as he tries to tickle her, "You _promised!_"

He just grins. Which fades, as he remembers why he's there. "Well, you promised Claudia that you'd teach her how to kick properly."

"Peeete," she half-whines, pulling her legs towards her and tucking them under her while he's distracted. "I'm not avoiding her, we've just been busy, _you_ know that. That last case--"

"That was yesterday, Myka. And as you're always saying, today is a brand new day. But you're hiding out in the inn. Why're you avoiding her?"

"I'm not avoiding her, I just..."

"Come on, Myka, you've gotta know what this is doing to her. She really wants to fit in, wants you to like her, and you keep distancing yourself from her. What's going on?"

"She's practically a child," Myka says, except this isn't really an answer at all. She shifts on the couch, and then moves to stand up, but Pete grabs her shirt and tugs her firmly back down.

"Myka?" he says, and she closes her eyes. Sighs.

"I'll talk to her," she says. "Look, Pete, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt her feelings, I'll talk to her."

"Yeah, Myka...look, I just think...just be careful with this, okay? I don't think this is about the normal hero-worship thing that I originally thought it was, it's just...just don't hurt her, okay?"

"Pete, what're you talking about?" Myka asks, blinking.

Pete tilts his head to the side, looking at her, and Myka blushes. "Figure it out, but don't avoid her and don't hurt her," he says, and the way that he's looking at her, serious, still keeping her gaze, makes her nod, makes her _admit_.

"Okay," she says. "Okay."

**./.**

They're walking around the Warehouse, mostly because they've been getting unusually high energy spikes (flickering lights and all) in certain sectors. Artie and Pete are checking out the other problematic area, while Claudia and Myka are here.

Myka had asked Claudia to accompany her. _Baby steps,_ she thinks. _Baby steps/_

Except there have been mini-tremors cascading throughout the Warehouse all morning, and they definitely appear to be getting closer, and this whole "bonding" thing, which was going great what with the trading of funny-Pete and funny-Artie stories, appears to be coming to an abrupt end because whatever is going down looks to be going down soon. And by soon, now.

"Claudia!" Myka yells, and before Claudia finishes turning to look up at Myka's _widewide_ eyes, Myka shoves her, hard, so that she's stumbling to the ground but _away out of the away out of the_ and the low pulsing hum bursts into noise and as Myka turns towards the sound _no time to run_ the blast catches her and, lifting her off the ground, shoves her back into the opposite bookshelf.

"_Myka!_" Claudia screams, but her voice is swallowed by the noise of the artifact, and then a second blast, rippling outwards as the shelves shake, and Myka falls to the ground, artifacts falling around them, not moving, _not moving_, and Claudia is on her feet and moving towards her before she realizes it's over, dropping to her knees besides Myka's still form, hands unsteady and unsure as she hovers over her. "Myka, Myka wake up, Myka be okay, wake up, wake up—" Claudia babbles, wide eyes fixed on Myka's still body, her eyes dark as she looks at her, so unsure, so young, "_Myka!_"

She moves slightly, moans. Her eyes flutter open, blinking until she can focus. Her right hand starts to go to her head and then she stops with a cry, her eyes wide, and Claudia takes her eyes off of Myka's gorgeous, _awake_ face to take in the blood that's started seeping through Myka's right sleeve.

"Ohgods," Claudia says as Myka edges up the sleeve with her left hand. There's a good four inch gash on the outside of her arm.

"Well _shit_," Myka says, the uncharacteristic swearing making Claudia snort in surprise. Myka looks up at her, a genuine smile on her face as she takes in Claudia.

"Okay, okayokayokay are you okay? What can I do? I need you to be okay, Myka, are you okay?" Claudia babbles, and Myka starts to shake her head but then stops, her eyes snapping closed, her breath shaky.

Her left hand goes to her head, tracing the back of her skull with a wince, and when she pulls her head away it's dark with blood. "Well," she says, voice unsteady, "I've got a bump on my head and that cut on my arm, and I think I hurt my ankle but it's okay, we're going to be just fine, okay Claudia?"

"Should I get help? I should get help. Should I get help?" Claudia asks, voice pitching higher, but from somewhere nearby something moves and Myka stops Claudia from moving with a hand on her arm.

"That blast knocked some of the artifacts, we don't know what's going on out there," she says. "Artie knew where we were going, I think we should stay here for now, given the way that the Warehouse is…turning red?" Myka asks, and Claudia turns to see that sure enough, the walls of the Warehouse are changing color.

"Right," she says. "Stay here, avoid getting changed into a possum or something," she agrees, making Myka once again grin. "But what about your arm?"

"I think…I think we're going to have to do something about that. Do you have any water?"

"I've got half a bottle," Claudia offers immediately, and Myka nods.

"That's good, we just need something to use as a bandage," Myka says, and then blinks in surprise as Claudia peels off her sweatshirt and then slips out of her t-shirt, her body lithe under her black bra, and Myka forces herself to look away as Claudia shrugs back into her sweatshirt self-consciously.

"Sorry, I just—bandage?" Claudia says, holding up the black tee, and Myka looks up at her, cheeks flushed, and eyes dark, and Claudia's breath catches in her throat.

"That's perfect," Myka says, except her tone says something else, _something breathy and whispered in the dark as bodies tumble together,_You're perfect_, you're everything_ and Claudia feels her cheeks grow warm.

"I don't—I've never done this before," she says after a moment. "I don't want to hurt you."

"I'll talk you through it," Myka says, eyebrow quirking up. "You wanted more hands-on experience, didn't you?" she smiles.

"I meant more theoretical than practical lessons," Claudia says, eyes narrowing. "More of the safety mat variety than the pushed out of the way by Myka the Dragonslayer."

"_Myka the Dragonslayer?_"she laughs, "Where did you pull that from?"

Claudia shrugs. "I read a lot of fairytales right after Joshua disappeared," she says, and Myka's smile immediately falters. "I never could decide if I wanted to be the White Knight or the Damsel in Distress," Claudia says, trying for a smirk, clenching and then relaxing her hands as she tries to calm her nerves. "Looks like I get to be both."

"Looks like," Myka agrees, voice rough with pain that she can't quite keep out of her voice. "Claudia, it's going to be okay, you're going to do great, okay?" she says, reaching out a hand and letting her fingers tangle with Claudia's as she forces herself to take deep breaths. "I'm going to walk you through it, and it's going to be fine."

Claudia laughs, the sound a bit too unhinged for anyone's liking. "I think, generally, the non-bleeding person is supposed to be delivering the atta-boys, Myka," she says. "God, I'm so _fucking_ stupid, I can't believe—"

"Claudia," Myka cuts it, her voice sharp. "Don't."

"Right," she says. "Right. Not helping."

"Not your fault," Myka says, her voice soft, giving Claudia's hand a squeeze, and Claudia swallows a half-whimper, scooting closer to Myka.

"Okay," she says, "Okay, tell me what I have to do."

The next half-hour isn't good for either of them, as Claudia wills her hands to stop shaking and Myka bites her lip against the pain as she talks Claudia through cleaning and then bandaging the wound, her voice low with hurt, her eyes fluttering shut before she forces them open to meet Claudia's terrified gaze.

_"I'm sorry," Claudia keeps whispering as Myka swallows a cry, eyes damp as she blinks back tears, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry—"_

When she ties it off, her t-shirt now mostly in strips around Myka's arm or on the floor beside them, Myka whispers "Thank you." Claudia's hand stills above her, and then, hesitantly, she reaches out and tucks Myka's hair behind her ear, her thumb trailing along her cheek.

"Don't ever do that again," she says, her voice low, and Myka looks up at her, confused. "Don't ever—ever push me out of the way, don't ever—don't get hurt for me," she says.

Myka smiles, then, a bit blurry around the edges, but still a smile. "I couldn't let you get hurt," she says.

"Well I can't have you jumping in front of exploding artifacts, I need to know you're safe, I need—Myka, I _care_ about you!"

Myka swallows. "I care about you, too," she says, catching Claudia's hand in her own, and Claudia leans in, _leans in in in_—

"There you are!" Artie yells, stumbling through the debris, and Myka and Claudia jerk apart as Pete gets his first good look at them.

"Well _fuck_," he says. "Myka, what've you done now?"

**./.**

She's taken to the hospital, despite her protestations that she's fine, that Claudia bandaged her fine and that she's fine and that everything is _fine_ and she wants to go _home_ and when did the inn become home and—

They take her to the hospital, Artie driving too fast, so that Pete (who'd jumped into the back with Myka, because Claudia'd _checked the fastest way to the hospital weeks ago because she'd known something like this would happen and Artie! Take a left through the cornfield!_) was forced to move past jokes and onto desperate measure to keep Myka distracted from (_Cow!Cowcowcow Artie look out!_) everything else.

But Claudia keeps turning and looking backwards, because she has to see that she's alright, she has to know, she has to believe, and every time Claudia looks back Myka meets her eyes with a smile, no matter what, and Pete just watches, pretending not to notice their silent conversation. ("Myka!" he says, "Hot air balloons! They're awesome right! No that wasn't a cow!")

But they get her there alive, and after she's been treated and bandaged and given a prescription, they take her home. _Home._

**./.**

Pete ends up carrying Myka up the stairs, despite the way she'd pouted, because given the drugs and her sprained ankle, she wasn't fooling anyone with her professed ability to hop.

"Hey," he says, when he's got her sitting quietly on top of the bed. "Hey, Myka, you okay?"

And she smiles, because it's Pete, and annoying as hell or not, he's practically family—_the protective older brother she never had._ "I'm fine, Pete," she says. "Believe it or not, I've actually gotten shot at before," she smirks. "This is nothing."

Pete shakes his head despite the smile tugging at his lips. "You know I'm not talking about this," he says. "You know I'm not talking about you being hurt, because although I am worried I do know you well enough to know you'd just lie to me," he says, and she laughs at that, despite the way she tries to pull the arms crossed pout.

"I'm fine," she says. "Really."

"You're _okay_," he admits, mostly grudging. "But I'm talking about you and Claudia, and…are you okay, Myka?"

"I…" she starts, and then stops. Frowns. Shrugs. "I don't know," she says softly.

"Mmm," he says, and then squeezes her hand and stands up. "Feel better, Myka," he says, dropping a kiss on her forehead before leaving.

**./.**

Pete pauses downstairs, where Artie and Claudia are pacing.

"She said she's feeling better," he says, and then his eyes drift to Claudia, who's practically twisting her fingers off with her nervous wringing. "Hey," he says, "Hey, you did good today."

"Practically an Army Ranger," she quips, trying for a smile and falling miserably short. Artie puts an arm around her and pulls her in to his side.

"I'm proud of you," he says, voice gruff against her hair, and Pete smiles as Claudia practically collapses into Artie's side.

"I was so worried," she says, sniffling into his jacket, and he pulls her in tighter.

"You did great," he says. "You did great."

After a couple of minutes, Claudia pulls backs, and when Artie lets her go, Pete clears her throat.

"I was thinking Myka might need help changing," he says. "Maybe you could…?"

Claudia flushes a little, but shrugs. "I'll ask?" she says, before practically darting upstairs. Artie rolls his eyes at Pete, and Pete just grins, completely unashamed.

**./.**

"Hello?" Myka asks, as someone knocks on the door. Claudia peeks her head in.

"Pete said you might need help getting ready for bed…" she says, and then immediately blushes. "I mean…I just…"

"I'm okay, Claudia," Myka says, smiling at her as if knowing what she was thinking. She nods her head inwards from where she's laid out on the bed. "Come on in."

Claudia comes in cautiously, and Myka pats the edge of the bed. "I won't bite, I swear," she says.

"That's a shame," Claudia says, lips twitching, but as soon as she's seated, her lips start trembling, her hands tight around the covers.

"Heyheyhey," Myka says, pulling Claudia closer with her left arm. "I'm okay, you're okay, we're okay," she says.

"I know," Claudia says, "I was just so worried and you were so strong and—"

"I knew you'd be fine," Myka says. "I wasn't worried because I knew you wouldn't let me down, okay? I knew you'd be fine."

Claudia looks up at her, and before either of them can think about it she tilts her head up and kisses her, lips soft against hers, hand resting on Myka's hip, because _she'd been so sure, seeing Myka, lying there, still_ and Myka closes her eyes, giving into her, giving into _them_, all the excuses she'd told herself dwindling away as Claudia presses closer, still so soft, her short hair brushing against her cheek.

"Claudia," Myka says, pulling slightly away, "Are you sure…?"

"I'm pretty sure it's your turn to be the damsel-in-distress," Claudia smirks. "And as your white knight," she says, kissing the hollow of her throat, "I think I ought to rescue you."

"Claudia," Myka says, cupping the younger woman's cheek, and Claudia turns her head and kisses the inside of Myka's palm.

"Hey," she says, "Now _this_ is something I know how to do…but you can talk me through it if you want," she says, unable to hide the smirk.

Myka grins, shaking her head slightly. "Come here," she says, pulling her down, and Claudia comes willingly.

Myka kisses her, running her tongue along the seam of Claudia's lips, and Claudia opens her mouth easily to her, smiling into her mouth as Myka pulls Claudia's bottom lip in between her teeth and then slowly lets it go. When they pull apart for air, Myka loosens her left hand, which she's at some point tangled in Clauida's hair.

"Hey," she says, looking up at her, "You can rescue me whenever you want."

"Promise?" Claudia asks, eyebrow inching up as she hovers mere centimeters over Myka.

Myka smirks. "You fight my dragons and I'll fight yours," she says, and then tugs Claudia towards her again before she can say another word.

Luckily, Claudia is more than willing to show her agreement in other ways.


End file.
